Bin Feedback Note

Council staff may view the contents of your bins when they are placed on the kerb for collection. This can occur by the garbage truck drivers viewing the bin placement and its contents when collecting or emptying using truck surveillance cameras.

The contents will be checked for:

• Hazardous items
• Bins overflowing or exceeding weight limit
• Incorrect number of bins
• Unsafe or unsuitable bin placement
• Contamination (incorrect items) for that bin type

If any of the above are identified a coloured bin note with details of the issue and relevant information will be placed on the handle or lid of the bin.

The main purpose of is to reduce the following situations which negatively impact collection and recycling services:

• Hazardous items entering the waste or recycling streams which can pose a significant risk to people's safety, assets, or the environment during the collection, recycling, or disposal process. For example, large batteries, gas bottles, asbestos, fuel.
• Excessively contaminated recycle bins that would not be capable of being processed at the Material Recycling Facility. For example, large amounts of green waste, dust, general waste (bagged recycling) or concrete in a recycle bin. 
• Any bin placement issue that would force the collection driver to take unacceptable safety or service-quality risks while performing the service. For example, heavy bin more than 75kg, overfilled bins that may cause litter spillage or projectiles during the collection process.   

In addition, recycling helps reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill which is good for the environment and your community. It also creates jobs and contributes to economic growth. 

Recent audits show that in Bundaberg:

• 18% of what goes into the yellow recycle bin is contamination, e.g. plastic bags
• 11% of what goes into the general waste bin is recyclable
• 1 in 3 households place batteries in their wheelie bins which can cause fires in garbage trucks, at landfill, or recycling facility

By sorting our waste, together we can:

• Increase safety by ensuring hazardous materials such as asbestos, batteries and chemicals are disposed of correctly
• Improve the safety and efficiency of collection services 
• Reduce the amount of recycling contamination, which is locally hand sorted by staff from Impact Community Services at Council's material recovery facility
• Increase the recovery of important resources while minimising the amount of waste sent to landfill 
• Provide households with tailored education and support 
• Save households money in waste service charges - the less material sent to landfill, the less it costs Council to provide the service 

If you find a coloured note on your bin it means it was inspected prior to or during collection.

For more information and next steps, click on the colour that corresponds with the tag you received at the top of this page.

Recipients will receive either a orange or red note.

For an overview of all waste and recycling services and options available to residents across the region, take a look at our waste and recycling handy guide or search for a specific item on the Recycle Mate website.

For more information on the waste and recycling that is accepted in your kerbside bins, please refer to our waste and recycling A-Z guide.

All Bundaberg Regional Council garbage trucks are fitted with GPS and surveillance cameras to monitor the safety of our employees, other road users, our assets and the performance of our waste services.

Video footage of individuals may be inadvertently captured during the normal waste collection process. Access to camera footage and GPS data is limited to authorised officers only, who may access these systems to review content as required.

All personal information is handled in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009.

The contents of household bins are the legal possession of the property owner when on private land. Once bins are left out for collection the contents become the property of Bundaberg Regional Council. Please note however that Council never uses or records the contents from within the bin to identify any household. 

If you are still concerned about any personal or confidential information, consider shredding and placing in your general waste bin. 

Residents should only use the bins that belong to their household.

To reduce the risk of others using your bins, do not leave your bin out for longer than the 24 hour period around your collection day.

If this is a recurring problem contact Council on 1300 883 699 to report it.